Speed
by Raziel12
Summary: When Ruby runs, the world stops. That's how it's always been. Until now. Now the world runs, and Ruby stops. No one can be fast enough all of the time.


**Speed**

When Ruby runs, the world stops.

She moves so fast that everything else might as well be standing still. A heartbeat takes an hour, and a minute goes on forever. A moment becomes a lifetime.

When the White Fang assassin draws his gun and fires, Ruby is the first one to realise that he's aiming at Weiss.

To everyone else, it's a blur of sound and motion, but Ruby sees it all. She sees the gunman lift his arm. She sees the curl of his lip as he squeezes the trigger. The gun jerks back, and the air ripples as the bullet shoots free of the barrel. The bullet spins – clockwise – and the people around the gunman jerk away as the thunder of the shot washes over them.

Blake turns even before the sound of the shot reaches her, and Gambol Shroud is up and firing. She doesn't hesitate, and her aim is perfect – Ruby can tell that with just a glance. Blake's bullet is going to pass right through the gunman's left eye. But it won't be fast enough. He's already fired.

Not far from Blake, another assassin draws his weapon. Yang is there. Her sister's Semblance flares to life. The pavement at her feet cracks, and Ruby's gaze traces the spider's web of broken concrete as it expands. It's almost painfully slow for her to watch although it happens too quickly for anyone else to follow. This assassin will not get a shot off. He won't even live through the next three seconds. Yang's right arm is already moving, her power gathering around her fist like a storm.

But even as she sees all these things, processes them, and shoves them aside, Ruby is moving.

When Ruby runs, the whole world stands still.

But not the bullet – it's still moving, still racing toward Weiss.

To everyone else, Ruby simply vanishes. There are no rose petals, no flashes of light. There is only speed, more speed than anyone else has ever had. She watches Weiss turn and sees the other woman summon a Glyph to stop the projectile. The glowing barrier comes together in the air, a dozen different pieces fitting together so quickly that only Ruby can catch the split-second it takes for the Glyph to lock together and activate.

Weiss is fast – she always has been – and the Glyph is finished before the sound of the gunshot even fades from the air. The bullet isn't even halfway there, and Weiss believes she's ready.

She's not.

Because as fast as Weiss is, she doesn't see the world the way that Ruby does.

When Ruby runs, the world stops. It doesn't stop for anyone else.

So only Ruby can see the faint glow coming from inside the bullet, and only she can make out the faint distortion in the air around it. It's an anti-aura bullet – something so rare and difficult to make that she's only seen a handful of them in her life. But they can cut through aura and aura-based abilities like they're nothing.

Weiss's Glyph might as well be made of paper.

Ruby is halfway to Weiss when the bullet pierces through the heiress's Glyph. The barrier comes apart in a shower of light. Ruby watches all one hundred and forty two pieces of it tumble through the air.

She is three quarters of the way to Weiss when the other woman's eyes widen in sudden horrified understanding. A thousand thoughts flash through Weiss's eyes, and every single one of them burns its way into Ruby's soul.

And Ruby's hand is a hair's breadth from pushing Weiss out of the way when the bullet hits her in the chest.

Ruby's world stops.

She is right there when the bullet punches a hole through Weiss's chest roughly the size of her fist before bursting out of her back. It lodges in the concrete wall behind Weiss. But all Ruby can see is the blood – a thousand drops flying in the wake of the bullet, all of them moving in super slow motion as they streak toward the wall.

Weiss jerks back, twisting and tumbling like a puppet with its strings cut. Her mouth opens, and she tries to scream, but she can't. There's a hole in her chest, and all that comes out of her mouth is blood. The blood gets all over Weiss's pretty dress. Ruby watches it trace out the stitching along the side and follow the curve of the more absorbent fabric that fans across Weiss's stomach.

For a millisecond, it's almost like Weiss has a red rose on her chest. But then the blood is everywhere, a great, cloud of crimson splattered all over pale skin and white fabric.

And then Ruby has Weiss in her arms. She's moving – moving faster than she's ever moved before because as long as she's moving, the world has to stand still and Weiss doesn't have to die. She can get to the hospital. Everything will be okay.

It has to be.

Ruby steps in a puddle. The water explodes outward, and she watches a million droplets fan out from the corner of her eye, watches them stretch and burst as they hit the ground or the wall beside her. But all she really cares about is the blood draining out of Weiss, the blood soaking into her sleeves. Every drop that hits her skin is like a hammer pounding into her skull.

And she can feel with perfect clarity – can tell down to the very billionth of a second – the exact moment that Weiss goes limp in her arms and her aura vanishes.

And she has what feels like an eternity to realise that she's failed. That not even she can be fast enough – not all of the time.

Ruby reappears in front of the hospital and drops to her knees. People rush forward to help, but she doesn't see them, doesn't even notice them.

When Ruby runs, the world stops.

That's how it's always been.

Until now.

Now the world runs, and Ruby stops.

She never runs again.

X X X

**Author's Notes**

As always, I do not own RWBY, and I'm not making any money off of this.

So, I was asked to write something that wasn't particularly romantic or fluffy, and this is what happened. I've always found Ruby's Semblance interesting. If she can move super fast, then her perception of time must be similarly quick, otherwise it would be impossible for her to control herself properly. This story is a kind of darker twist to what it would be like to have the whole world slow down like that when something bad happens.

I also write original fiction, mostly fantasy. You can find the links to it in my profile. If you're in the mood for something humorous, try _Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Elf._ If you want something more serious, try _The Last Huntress_.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.


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